Killer sentenced as a youth in 2019 death of Winnipeg woman

A youth convicted of second-degree murder in the 2019 killing of Winnipeg woman Lise Danais will not serve a life sentence in prison, a judge ruled on Tuesday.

Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Anne Turner instead handed down the maximum seven-year youth sentence. Three of those years will be served as conditional supervised release.

Danais, 51, was found in critical condition with brutal injuries in her Rockcliffe Road house, near the Royal Canadian Mint, on the morning of March 26, 2019. She was rushed to hospital but died shortly after.

About five months later, a youth known to her was charged in her death. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.

The youth was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder in June 2022, following a month-long trial.

He cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and CBC News is not revealing some details in the case because they could identify him.

A key question raised in the youth's sentencing hearings, which started in November, was whether he should be sentenced as an adult or a youth, since he was under 18 at the time of the killing.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is based on the principle that youth are of "diminished moral blameworthiness" compared to adults.

A court can only impose an adult sentence if the prosecution rebuts that presumption and establishes that a youth sentence wouldn't be long enough to hold an offender accountable.

Turner said considering all the elements of the case, an adult sentence was not appropriate.

The minimum adult sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with no parole for 10 years.

Evidence at trial

The morning of Danais's death, the youth called 911 to report thathe had found her dead, court heard during what was then the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench trial, which Turner also presided over.

Jurors also heard DNA evidence linkedthe youth to the scene, and video surveillance did not capture anyone but the youth coming and going from Danais's home the morning she was attacked.

The youth's lawyer, Matt Gould, had argued the evidence against his client was mostly circumstantial and asked why other possibilities weren't investigated more thoroughly.

In particular, he said police should have investigated another potential suspect, Danais's co-worker, more thoroughly, because Danais had filed a complaint against him and said she was afraid of him.